Voice actress Bayonetta urges boycott of ‘humiliating’ pay

As early as October, the Japanese developer PlatinumGames, known for its action monikers, told detective game That Switch Next Exclusive Bayonetta 3 You won’t see voice actress Helena Taylor reprise her impressive role as a hero. Instead, Bayonetta’s English VA is now Jennifer Hale, one of the most popular voice actresses in the industry known for roles such as Commander Shepard. At the time, Platinum claimed that the substitution was due to “various overlapping circumstances” that made it “difficult” for Helena to play Bayonetta again. More than a week later, Taylor took to social media to oppose the Platinum account, stating that the studio hadn’t been completely transparent about what actually happened.

Rather than losing the role because Hill was a better performer, or because of something like a scheduling conflict, Taylor claims it was over paid. In a series of videos, Taylor goes on to say that Platinum apparently offered her only $4,000 for the full performance, which is based on the trailers. It appears to show the leading VA expressing multiple versions of the same character. For Taylor, who spent years studying her craft and undoubtedly created one of the most memorable shows in the entire medium, the show was an insult.

“We auditioned for Bayonetta’s new voice and pitched the role to Jennifer Hill, who we felt was a good match for the character,” said Game Director Yosuke Miyata. detective game in time. “I understand the concerns of some fans about the changing of the voice at this point in the series, but Jennifer’s performance was beyond what we could have imagined. I am confident her portrayal of Bionetta will exceed our fans’ expectations.” according to detective gameIn the story, the publication found Hill’s performance to be nearly indistinguishable from that of Taylor.

But Taylor described the whole situation, while legal, as “immoral”.

In a video, Taylor said, referring to her decision to talk about what’s going on. “But I think I like Bayonetta a little more than I thought.

She continued, “I understand that boycotting this game is a personal choice, and there are those who don’t.” And that’s fine. But if you are someone who cares about people, who cares about the world around you, who cares who gets hurt by these financial decisions? Then I urge you to boycott this game.”

Taylor was originally cast for the role of the witch in the popular action game 2009, and reprized her role on the series in the 2014 follow-up. The series is widely considered one of the best recent Nintendo franchises.

“I decided to do this to stand in solidarity with people around the world who are not being paid adequately for their talent,” Taylor continued to say, probably in part in reference to A broader movement in voice acting today has seen lead roles replaced as performers compete for better pay across unions.

“Fat cats ditch the shirt and leave us crumbs,” she said, before noting that her inability to earn a living wage from the industry led her to suffer from depression and anxiety. As you say, after it was low, I wrote to Hideki Kamiya, CEO of the game, to defend her case. She claims that he acknowledged her importance to the role and how much it would mean to fans. But it looks like the bid ended up being $4,000.

“I was worried about being on the streets,” she said of the biggest shortfall in getting a living wage. “It terrified me so much that I once committed suicide. I’m not afraid of NDA. I can’t even start a car. What are they going to do, take my clothes off? Good luck to them.”

nintendo, Bayonetta 3The site’s publisher, Taylor did not immediately respond to a request for comment. And while PlatinumGames hasn’t released an official statement on the matter, Kamiya himself They seem to be responding on Twitter.

He wrote: “Sad and unfortunate for the lying position.” “That’s all I can say now.”

But most noticeably, he ended the note by writing, “By the way, beware of my rules.” As far as anyone can tell, this seems to refer to the use of Twitter, as Kamiya is said to be blocking people left and right. For intelligence, his title image is just a series of posts where he warns “insects”, especially those that speak foreign languages ​​like English, that he has or will ban them. And his pinned post on Twitter is a series of “rules” which, if broken, he warns will lead to people being banned. “My block button is bigger than ever.”

sure enough, People and even publications who report on Bayonetta 3 It looks like the voice acting situation at the moment has been hit with a ban hammer by Kamiya. Meanwhile, other voice actors are in tune with their anecdotes and experiences. Sean Chaplock, who voiced Rivali in Breath of the wild, another game published on Nintendo, claims that he only earned about $2,000 to $3000 for his role as it was based on the number of hours in the studio. But he noted that that paycheck was largely because he was voicing three different characters, not one.

“Bayonetta always stands up for those with less power, and stands up for what’s right,” Taylor said in her videos. “In doing so, you stand with it,” she said of the player’s potential decision to boycott the game. In the videos, Taylor also wished Hill, the new Bayonetta, all the best. But she still had hard words to say about what the role of Bayonetta would mean to her.

“But she has no right to say it’s Bayonetta’s voice, she made that sound,” Taylor said. “She has no right to sign merchandise in Bayonetta’s name, any more than I have the right to sign as Eva Green even though I was her father in the video game The Golden Compass. That betrayal of her, and betrayal of her alone. They would probably try to do occasional business with Jane. No. You buy that too.”

The last video that Taylor shared was directed entirely at Nintendo, PlatinumGames, and “fat cats” in general. It was a retelling of Lazarus the beggar from the Bible, and a larger critique of the morality accompanying the emphasis on money over people.

Bayonetta 3 It will be released for the Nintendo Switch on October 28th.